Toe hoe



Aug. 13, 1957 R. SMITH I 2,802,264

TOE HOE Filed Nov. 30, 1956 IN V EN TOR.

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TOE HOE Raymond C. Smith, Prescott, Wash.

Application November 30, 1956, Serial No. 625,416

3 Claims. (Cl. 30-297) This invention relates to garden implements in general, and more particularly has reference to a blade-like device attachable to ones shoe, in such a manner as to permit said device to be used for cutting or uprooting weeds and for general cultivation purposes, merely by manipulation of the foot of the wearer.

It is-well known that various types of cultivating operati'ons in gardens, flower beds, etc. are laborious and timeconsuming. For example, there is a continuing necessity to cultivate flower beds, etc., to prevent weeds from growing therein. While conventional hoes, cultivators, and the like are wholly efficient for their intended purposes, in some circumstances there are weeds that are difiicult to reach, without stooping over and pulling the same out by hand. The implement formed according to the present invention relieves one of this onerous duty, to reduce physical fatigue and permit the cutting or uprooting of the weeds while one remains in a standing position.

Another object is to provide a device as stated that will be manufactured at low cost, with the cost being so low as to increase to a marked degree the commercial feasibility of the invention.

Another object is to form the device in a manner such that it can be swiftly and easily attached to or detached from ones shoe, and will not damage the shoe in any way.

Another object is to provide in association with the cutting blade of the device, a shoe-engaging clamp having a novelly shaped design to cause the clamp to engage over the upper and over the welting or sole of the shoe, in a manner to wedge the shoe in the clamp and hold the clamp against movement relative to the shoe during use of the device.

Another object is to form the implement in such manner that it will be connectable to shoes of different sizes, by reason of a novel adjustment feature of the clamp.

A further object is to provide, in the implement, a forwardly projecting blade having a particular shape and location in respect to the shoe, designed to facilitate the cutting or uprooting of Weeds or the cultivating of the ground.

A further object is to form the blade integrally with a base or cross member of the clamp, to reduce the cost of manufacture, with the cross member or base of the clamp being so designed as to permit the clamping tongues or straps of the clamp to be connected to said cross member at a selected, adjusted distance from each other, to accommodate the clamp to the particular width of the sole of the shoe on which the device is to be used.

Other objects will appear from the following description, the claims appended thereto, and from the annexed drawings, in which like reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a shoe, to which has been attached an implement according to the present invention;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary top plan view of the shoe 2,802,264 Patented Aug. 13, 1957 with the implement attached, the scale being reduced somewhat below that of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the shoe, with the implement attached, on the same scale as Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a transverse sectional view on line 4-4 of Figure 2 in which the shoe remains in elevation;

Figure 5 is a top plan view of the blade element and of the clamping base or cross member;

Figure 6 is a side elevational view of one of the clamping tongues; and

Figure 7 is a side elevational view of the other clamping tongue.

Referring to the drawings in detail, at S there has been designated a shoe, to which has been applied an implement formed according to the present invention.

The implement includes a bottom piece which as shown in Figure 5 is cruciform in shape, including a relatively short cross member or clamp base 10 integral medially between its ends with an elongated blade member 12 that projects forwardly from the cross member, said blade member having a short; rearwardly projecting extension 13 extending from the back edge of the cross member to engage the underside of the sole of the shoe when the device is in use. The provision of the tongue 13 has certain desirable characteristics which will be made more apparent hereinafter during the discussion of the operation of the device. I

In any event, the bottom piece shown in Figure 5 is formed from flat, relatively rigid bar or sheet metal stock, having the requisite strength to resist bending of the same during digging and weed-cutting operations.

Considering the particular formation of the blade mem ber, it will be noted that the opposite longitudinal edges 14, 16 are sharpened to provide cutting edges, with said cutting edges extending from a location intermediate the ends of the blade member fully to the outer extremity of the blade member. The edge 14 merges into a rounded end cutting edge 18 of the blade member, with the edge- 16 intersecting the end edge 18 approximately perpendicularly as best shown in Figures 2 and 5.

In the end portions of the cross member 10 there are formed groups of transverse, closely spaced slots 20. The slots extend parallel to the length of the blade member 12, as will be apparent, and provide means for pivotally mounting on the ends of the cross member a pair of arcuate, opposed clamping straps 22, 24 formed of a relatively rigid metal corresponding to that used in forming the bottom piece.

Referring to Figure 4, the arcuate clamping strap 22 overlies the upper of the shoe inwardly'from the toe of; the shoe a short distance, extending approximately half the Width of the upper, slightly beyond the midwidth point of the upper. At its lower end, the clamping strap 22 is formed with an outwardly olfset, angular extension 26 adapted to fit over the welting W of the shoe S, and said extension 26 in turn merges into an outwardly directed car 28 extendable through a selected one of the slots 20.

The clamping strap 24 is also shaped to extend transversely of the upper, in overlapping relation to the upper end of the clamping strap 22. Strap 24 at its lower end is formed with an outwardly ofiset extension 30 merging into an ear or tongue 32 extendable through a selected slot 20 at the other end of the cross member.

The provision of a group of slots at each end of the cross member permits the straps 22, 24 to be pivotally connected to the cross member at selected, adjusted distances apart transversely of the shoe. Thus, if the shoe sole is narrow, the innermost slots 20 might be used. Should one have a particularly wide shoe sole, the outermost slots might be used, thus permitting thev clamp to be fitted tightly but comfortably to the shoe, regardless of the size of the shoe.

Formed in the upper end portion of the strap 24 is a series of slots 34 extending transverselyof the clamping strap 24. At its free end, strap 24 has an upwardly curving portion 35 providing a handle that Will facilitate connection or disconnection of the clamping straps.

At its upper end, the clamping strap 22 has an upwardly projecting lug 36 cngageable in a selected one of the slots 34, so that when the clamping straps are pivoted toward each other into overlapping relation, and are comfortably but tightly engaged against the upper, the lug 36 will be automatically placed for extension through a slot 34 adjacent the same. 7

Between the handle portion 35 and the group of slots 34 the clamping strap 24 is formed with a slot-like opening 38 extending normally to the length of the slots 34. This may be used to receive a nail or equivalent element projecting from a Wall, to hang the device so that it is not in use.

. In use of the device, it will be apparent that one merely pivots the clamping straps into overlapping relation, connecting the same together in the manner shown in Figures 1, 2, and 4. Suitable adjustments are made in respect to the distance of the lower ends of the straps from each other, and in respect to the location at which the straps are detachably interengaged at their overlapping ends. With the device firmly secured to the toe portion of the shoe, the blade will project beyond the front end of the shoe, as shown in Figure 1, and by manipulation of the foot, the blade can be used for cutting Weeds, cultivating ground, etc.

It will be noted that in many instances, one may extend the blade into the ground surface to cut through a stalk of a Weed or work the ground. Then, when the blade is raised following its extension into the ground, there might tend to arise a pressure tending to rock the clamp upon the toe portion of the shoe counterclockwise in Figure 3. However, the rearwardly projecting extension 13 of the blade engages the underside of the shoe rearwardly from the clamp, to prevent this rocking movement.

At the same time, the angular extensions 26, 30, engaging the correspondingly angularly related surfaces of the welting at opposite sides of the shoe, hold the clamp against rocking movement in clockwise or counterclockwise directions in Figure 2, so that the blade always remains in line with the length of the shoe and so that, further, the clamp will be securely and tightly engaged with the shoe. In this connection the clamp, when connected to the shoe, can be pulled backwardly by grasping the ends of the cross member and pulling the same toward the heel portion of the shoe, so that the angular extensions Wedgingly engage the opposite sides of the shoe, where said opposite sides diverge rearwardly adjacent the tip of the toe of the shoe.

It is believed apparent that the invention is not necessarily confined to the specific use or uses thereof described above, since it may be utilized for any purpose to which it may be suited. Nor is the invention to be necessarily limited to the specific construction illustrated and described, since such construction is only intended to be illustrative of the principles, and the means presently devised to carry out said principles, it being considered that the invention comprehends any minor change in construction that may be permitted within the scope of the appended claims.

4 What is claimed is: 1. A cultivating attachment for the shoe of a user, comprising a flat cross member adapted to underlie the sole of said shoe inwardly from the tip of the toe of the inwardly from the extremities of the cross member, said clamping straps being formed at their upper ends for detachable connection to each other in position overlying the upper of the shoe.

2. A cultivating attachment for the shoe of a user,

' comprising a fiat cross member adapted to underlie the sole of said shoe inwardly from the tip of the toe of the shoe, said cross member having adjacent each end a plurality of openings spaced longitudinally of the cross member; a blade member rigid with the cross member and projecting forwardly therefrom to extend beyond said tip; and a pair of clamping straps each including at one end an ear removably engageable in a selected opening of the cross member, thus to pivot the clamping straps upon the ends of the cross member at selected locations inwardly from the extremities of the cross member, said clamping straps being formed at their upper ends for detachable connection to each other in positions overlying the upper of the shoe, each of said clamping straps including adjacent said one end thereof outwardly offset, angular extensions adapted to overlie the welting of the shoe at opposite sides of the shoe.

3. A cultivating attachment for the shoe of a user, comprising a fiat cross member adapted to underlie the sole of said shoe inwardly from the tip of the toe of the shoe, said cross member having adjacent each end a plurality of openings spaced longitudinally of the cross member; a blade member rigid with the cross member and rejecting forwardly therefrom to extend beyond said tip; and a pair of clamping straps each including at one end an ear removably engageable in a selected opening of the cross member, thus to pivot the clamping straps upon the ends of the cross member at selected locations inwardly from the extremities of the cross member, said clamping straps being formed at their upper ends for detachable connection to each other in positions overlying the upper of the shoe, each of said clamping straps including adjacent said one end thereof outwardly offset, angular extensions adapted to overlie the welting of the shoe at opposite sides of the shoe, said blade member being formed with a short extension projecting rearwardly from the cross member to contact the shoe sole in back of the cross member and thereby cooperate with the front end of the blade member in preventing rocking of the cross member on the shoe.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 391,738 Cross Oct. 23, 1888 844,625 Spencer Feb. 19, 1907 1,138,076 Brigance May 4, 1915 2,075,779 Johnson et al Mar. 30, 1937 

